


The Last Hope of Handsome Jack

by viperscreed



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Multi, Vault Hunter!Reader, but they'll get it together, gender neutral!reader, mostly going to be based on my play experiance, reader and jack are probably going to fight a lot at the start, this is gonna be fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:14:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9337130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viperscreed/pseuds/viperscreed
Summary: Rhys - The newly appointed Atlus CEO trying his best to get a dead company back off the groundJack - Newly resurrected and extremely pissed offYou - The Vault Hunter making it all happen





	1. Chapter 1

You weren’t scared, you were a goddamn Vault Hunter. You’ve seen people collapse from the other side of your scope and conquered multiple universe destroying forces, if Handsome Jack was a legend then you were a goddamn demigod. You weren’t afraid of anything.

Then why was your heart beating so hard?

Maybe it was because when you were around neutral ground had a tendency of becoming a lot less neutral real quick. Perhaps it was because you were on a space station you’d never been on about to encounter a man you hadn’t seen face to face in a long time. Then again it might be because you’re very aware of how rusty your people skills are after so long of it mostly being you shooting people in the face.

You prowled around the bay area of the station like a caged skag waiting for them to arrive. What would you say when you saw them? Maybe you should just wait and see what they say. But what if they don’t say anything first?

You growled under your breath but were broken from your thoughts by the thunderous sound of a shuttle landing. The people around spotted the shuttle before you did and they were gawking, a turn of your head and you saw why. The ship was huge and painted in the gaudiest shade of yellow possible with the logo ‘Hyperion’ printed along its side though it looked like someone had tried to white it out. You swallowed thickly and started walking towards it.

The side door slide open and a step of stairs extended to the ground. A lithe figure was the first to appear in the doorway looking notably different then when you had last seen him. A genuinely expensive and fancy suit had replaced the ‘fashionable’ garb he used to wear and his blue Echoeye for a golden one. His hair was slicked back immaculately except for a few strands purposely left on his forehead, you were struck the urge to ruffle it. He’d probably squeak adorably.

“Oh you’re here, well that makes things a lot easier.” Rhys chuckled nervously before stepping to the side, pointing into the shuttle. “Are you ready to go?”

You eye him warily, more out of habit then any real distrust. The last time he had contacted you it was a few months ago to save the world from another vault monstrosity with a team of his friends, you could still remember his hopeful, desperation tinged voice asking the Last Hope for Pandora to make a return to the limelight through the comm. It had been quite the adventure but you didn’t know any of the others and afterward you had returned to your usual shooting and looting ways.

“Sure.” You answer and start to ascend the steps. Rhys fumbled backward to allow her inside and pressed a button to close the door behind you.

“So what’s this oh so secretive mission about?” You inquired as you sat down in the shuttle’s passenger seat. Rhys squared his shoulders bringing himself up to his full height as he looked down at you.

“I want you to retrieve a piece of Handsome Jack’s body, you were the uh... the last to see him alive.” You cocked a brow.

“I left his corpse on some rock surrounded by magma, I don’t think there’s going to be much to retrieve.” You explained and he slumped.

“I-I don’t necessarily need a piece of his body, some of his blood should be enough I just need something with his DNA on it.” He stammered out, resting his hands on the back of the shuttle’s driver seat to keep from fidgeting with them. A gnawing sensation sits at the back of your head and your eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“What do you need his DNA for?” You asked and his gaze met yours. There was no confidence in his eyes, only nervousness and fear. His lips parted then closed, unsure of the words he was trying to string together.

“I want to bring him back.” He stated simply though you were sure there was a lengthy explanation behind it. Your response surprised him, you didn’t recoil in disgust or shout like he was expecting, like everyone else had done. You just hummed thoughtfully, seriously considering his offer where other’s had called him insane.

“And what do I get out of it?” You’d get your favorite obstacle back if this worked; finally feel that thrill of a rival who had the firepower to back up their threats again but you knew better then to just jump in without a promised reward.

“An exclusive contract with Atlus, no more scraping for credits and I’ll give you first pick of all the equipment we develop or discover. We also have dental.” Rhys put forward without a hint of hesitation.

You had heard that Atlus was being revived but it hadn’t occurred to you that it was Rhys who was behind it. It seemed like a decent deal, the best you could possibly get on Pandora and the deal would only get sweeter as the company grew. And if Atlus returned to the dumpster pile Rhys was trying to take it out of you could always go back to what you had been doing, you’d just be out a nice dental plan.

Rhys took a step back when you stood up. A flurry of blue pixels surrounded your hand as you lifted your palm coming together to form a mask. The idea of wearing the thing never sat well with you so you had left it in your inventory since you didn’t really have anywhere you could stash for any real length of time. You looked up at Rhys to see him staring down at it slack jawed.

“I’m sure there’s a little blood on here somewhere.” You said with a light chuckle as you offer it to him.

Rhys carefully grabbed Jack’s mask by the chin and lifts it out of your palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Who doesn't need a new series but is starting one anyway? This girl!
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!


	2. Chapter 2

You stare out the large shuttle window watching the stars whiz by as Rhys barreled the both of you back toward Pandora. His gaze was fixed and determined, the mask in his inventory was burning a hole in its coding. The silence was bothering you, planet side it usually meant something bad was going to happen or that something deadlier then you was lurking around.

“So what are you going to do with him?” You asked to break the quiet, bringing calm back to your mind.

“Um… I need to prove something, to myself.” Rhys answered vaguely to your displeasure. You supposed his reasons weren’t much of your business; you’ve shot people with the only motivation being that someone was going to pay you so you didn’t know why his response bothered you.

“And if he returns to his megalomaniac ways?” Rhys turned his head and offered you a sheepish smile. Something fluttered in your chest and almost choked on your surprise at the feeling.

“That’s what I have you for right?” Rhys said it as if he was asking permission and you realized something.

He was _cute_.

Even now with his new garb and everything he had been through he didn’t carry the aura of someone who was jaded by their time on Pandora. It was refreshing, the idea of wooing him made you feel like the stereotypical Bad Boy from the other side of the tracks. You had to admit it appealed to you. The question now was what did you plan to do with these feelings.

It was then that you realized you had just been staring at Rhys and hadn’t answered him.

“Should be easier the second time.” You answered offering a light smile and in honesty it should be since Jack wouldn’t have an entire company and about half a decade of preparation behind him. Rhys agreed near silently before looking back out the window, his gaze was lost somewhere out among the stars. Thankfully the shuttle had an autopilot.

Any actions you were considering toward getting his attention in a non-professional manner would have to wait until later. You leaned over and flipped on the radio letting some song you’d never heard before fill the air between the two of you while you kicked your feet up on the dashboard. It would be quite a while before you reached the Atlus compound.

 

<><><> 

 

The shuttle barely hits the landing pad before Rhys is up and racing toward the door, you follow behind easily. You pass a handful of people who look a little worse for wear but content, a few bowing when they saw Rhys. You made a mental note to ask Rhys if he was rebuilding a company or if he was building a cult in its likeness.

“Rhys?” A man with luscious hair and beard tried to call out the CEO only to be ignored. You vaguely recognized his voice but couldn’t place exactly where you knew him from. Another pair of footsteps joined your little parade as you marched through the halls.

“Rhys, why do you have a Vault Hunter with you?” The man tried to question him again.

“Just bumping up security.” Rhys tried to sound casual but his voice was clearly forced and he barely so much as glanced at the other man.

“Why do we need more security _Rhys_?” He pushed and Rhys finally started to slow his pace, realizing he wasn’t making it back to his office without an explanation.

“So do you remember that little project I was telling you about?” Rhys inquired and was met with a long bout of silence.

“No!” He objected eyes going wide before he whipped around to look at you. “You’re letting this happen?”

“Without Hyperion he’s not any more dangerous than anything else on Pandora.” You replied with a shrug. Surely Jack was more ambitious than any bandit lord you had encountered and more than once you had entertained yourself with the thought of him as a Vault Hunter as well, he’d be good at it.

“And they can kill most things on Pandora.” Rhys supplied to ease his friend’s worries and you shot him a glare, your eyes didn’t hold any malice more playful then anything.

“I can kill anything on Pandora.” A self-satisfied smirk pulled at your lips as Rhys gestured to you looking at his friend like you were the obvious solution to a problem. Not to toot your own horn or anything but you kinda were.

“See Vaughn, I have this all under control.” Rhys was pleased with himself even if Vaughn didn’t look too convinced.

“Well, if you’re sure about this bro.” He agreed hesitantly. Rhys reached over and swung an arm around Vaughn’s shoulders, pulling him in for a slight hug.

“Of course I’m sure bro, trust me I won’t let anything bad happen.” Rhys assured him and Vaughn’s lips parted to remind Rhys of the multitude of times Rhys’ plans had gone up in cinders but he closed them. Rhys usually made things right in the end and for once he had someone with actual experience with him.

“Just be careful okay, he really messed with you when he was in your head.” Rhys’ reassuring smile faltered at that leaving you a little confused. You knew there were large portions you didn’t know about when it came to the fall of Hyperion having only been brought in to help take down the Traveler.

“I won’t give him permission to override my systems this time don’t worry.” The young CEO said with a light laugh and that was enough to bring a small smile to Vaughn’s face and to convince him that Rhys could handle his plan.

“Alright, I have some patrols to organize.” Vaughn excused himself giving Rhys a look and you an awkward wave before he left. Rhys gave a relieved sigh once his friend disappeared around the corner, that had gone better than he had expected.

“So what was that about Jack being in your head?” You asked startling him.

“I might have had a very advanced A.I. stuck in my head for a while.” Rhys explained deciding the full story could wait until after he had completed one of the most important things in his life right now. He picked up his pace; they were nearly to the elevator that would take them to his office.

“Sounds rough.” You replied and if you hadn’t been so familiar with Pandora you would’ve called it weird.

A few more seconds of walking and Rhys had never been happier to see the keypad to his elevator. He typed his code in with practiced ease and there was a heavy thunk as the elevator began to descend. You took the moment to look around, the walls were worn from an ungodly amount of time of being abandoned but it was clean and you could see patches in the brick, signs that it was recovering.

You stepped into the elevator when it opened taking a glance around to judge its structural integrity, it was impressive how put together it was considering they hadn’t managed to get the funds to import anything off of the planet yet. Hell the only reason he had been able to meet her on the station was because he had scavenged a shuttle from the Helios wreck. It was that resourcefulness that was making the rebuilding go so quickly but the young CEO was chomping at the bit to get focused on some actual progress.

The elevator doors shut with a certain finality that wasn’t lost on you. You immediately glanced over at Rhys and your brain cranked away to find a way to take advantage of the situation. You stepped toward him and his gaze moved to watch you out of the corner of his eye.

“Were you always this tall?” You inquired as if you really hadn’t noticed earlier and placed a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to turn so he was facing you.

“Uh…” He hummed flustered as you welcomed yourself into his personal bubble. You drew yourself up to your full height, your chest nearly brushing his as you tested how many inches he had on you. Even with the near extra inch given by your boots he still had to turn his head down to look at you, pink dusting his features.

He was pretty up close.

The door swished open and turned away from him to walk into his office. The first thing you noticed was a New-U station, its side panel had been ripped out and most of its wires had been splayed out over the desk next to it connected to various computers.

“You really ready to do this beautiful?” You looked over your shoulder and were pleased with the results of your teasing, Rhys’ cheeks were pink and his eyes wide. He swallowed thickly then cleared his throat before walking in.

“Yeah, I just have to plug his DNA into it.” Rhys nodded as Jack’s mask materialized in his hand. He looked down at it nervously, if he had done everything correctly this newly constructed Jack would have his memories from being an A.I. which meant Jack would remember who he was but he wouldn’t be happy to see him.

He walked over to his desk and pulled a small metal box forward, its wires leading back to the New-U. It wasn’t difficult to blood on the mask, not that the inside of it wouldn’t have been covered in Jack’s DNA and after a quick swab Rhys popped open the little box, placing the sample inside. The computer beside him beeped aggressively trying to reject the sample but a bit of typing from Rhys was all it took to override it.

You stood a few feet in front of the New-U watching the blue eye flicker to life, the antenna tried to extend but there was nothing but a nub of it left. Your breath caught in your throat as a swirl of blue pixels was slowly constructed in front of you. A low groan coming from the figure as his body gained its features back.

The first thing Jack saw was you, then Rhys and then his vision went red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So in case you curious one of my reasonings behind writing this is that I've been reading a lot of Reader/Character type stories and a lot of them have really meek reader characters which just doesn't do it for me :/ so be prepared for the Vault Hunter here to be pretty forward :D
> 
> And as always thank you for reading and please leave a comment telling me what ya think!


	3. Chapter 3

Rhys stood beside you with a pout firmly placed on his face as you both watched pixels reconstruct in front of you again. Your shield and its explosive spike damage effect was safely unequipped in your inventory and replaced with one that wouldn’t explode someone on contact should they not be wearing a shield when they decided to punch you. Jack didn’t look pleased as the last few pixels faded away, arms crossed over his chest as his breath came in slow and controlled.

“So, a traitor and a child killer, exactly what I wanted to see after my resurrection!” Jack threw up his hands in exasperation. Rhys shifted uncomfortably next to you but you don’t so much as blink at the accusation, it had been a while but you were used to that kind of thing by now.

“Now I’m guessing you didn’t bring me back to apologize so what do ya want?” Jack demanded. His eyes flickered so quickly that you almost didn’t notice him looking for something he could use as a weapon. Rhys stepped forward, swallowing thickly as he confronted Jack all too aware that the other man was real this time.

“I want you to watch me prove you wrong.” Rhys stated and Jack’s brow pinched together, lips parting in disbelief.

“Huh?”

“Do you remember what you told me about success, about how eventually I’ll start to measure it by the destruction around me well I’m going to prove you wrong. I’ve decided that Atlas’ goal will be to be to bring peace to Pandora without leveling the planet or wiping out all of its current inhabitants.” Rhys grew more confident as he spoke and by the end he nearly looked like he was challenging the other man.

“What?” That confidence deflated as you and Jack shared an outburst. He looked back you as if surprised that you couldn’t see his vision as clearly as he did.

“You’ve met the people on this planet right, you must have noticed that a majority of them are dangerous criminals.” You regretted it a bit after you said, undermining Rhys’ authority wasn’t the first thing you planned on doing in front of your soon to be prisoner.

“I never said it would happen quickly, once Atlas is up again I can start putting money into properly colonizing this planet and rebuilding the Crimson Lance. Most people will choose safety and structure over crime when it’s available.” Rhys explained standing up to the both of them. It would work, it had worked on hundreds of planets before this and it would work on hundreds after.

“You know the weather on Pandora is pretty wild too pumpkin, I dumped millions into Opportunity to make sure it wouldn’t collapse when winter finally comes back around.” Jack inquired, his brow cocking with mocking skepticism. The younger man puffed up, insulted.

“Of course I do, I’ve gone through every file available about Pandora and we’ve prepared emergency procedures for anything that could happen, including the planet exploding.” Rhys continued his defensive stance and shot a glance at you. You weren’t sure about this, you had never been one of those ‘seeds in a garden you’re never going to see’ kind of person, you probably wouldn’t have been a Vault Hunter if you were but you couldn’t see anything wrong in helping someone sow their flower bed as long as they were paying.

That sounded kinda sexual, you need to work on your metaphors.

“I trust him.” You said and Jack snorted, crossing his arms. His head tilted back so he could look down at you and Rhys, granted he’d have to look down at you even if he wasn’t trying to be condescending but it was the intent that made the look.

“Really convincing there sweetheart, how long have you been working for him, a week?” Jack asked and you gave miniscule shrug of your shoulders. Jack’s head tilted forward looking at you curiously now.

“Less than a week?”

“I’ve hired them before.” Rhys butted in but it clearly didn’t impress the newly resurrected CEO.

“Really _Rhysie_ , I almost did to and I’m pretty sure I know more about this murdering scum fucker then you do.” Jack’s voice was as disbelieving as it was admonishing and he pointed an accusatory finger at you while he lectured Rhys.

“I know that their loyal!” Rhys’ voice was rising and it was your turn to shift uncomfortably. It was a sweet sentiment but you knew the shaky foundation it was built on.

And so did Jack.

“Loyal to the friggin’ credit sweetheart.” His searing gaze turned to you and in any other circumstance you would have drawn your gun or walked away but you felt compelled to stay, waiting for an order from the CEO beside you. “I’m sure there’s still some documentation floating around for those missions you ran for me between running errands for those bandits.”

You could feel the uncertainty radiate off Rhys before you saw it take over his face. Your expression was trained, years of Dahl military training didn’t just disappear when you go AWOL, but you could feel a drop of adrenaline rush your bloodstream. There had to be a way to put some confidence back into the Atlas CEO. You looked to Rhys meeting his gaze like you did with everyone who had asked for your help.

“What do you want me to do with him?” You asked and internally cursed Jack when the other man hesitated to give you an order. You couldn’t wait to get the fallen CEO alone, you were going to tear him a new one.

“Take him to his cell, your room is right next to it, he’ll be your charge from now on.” Rhys directed and the information on your HUD updated almost immediately, the minimap giving you point to find.

_Last Hope of Handsome Jack_

Take Jack to his room: _

Make sure he doesn’t escape: _

Wait for further instruction: _

Once your eye had scanned down the mission requirements you gave Rhys a nod. A Maliwan SMG materialized in your hands, the plate on the side spinning to push bullets into the barrel and its blue glow reflected harshly off Jack’s face. You jerked your head in the direction of the door and he tried his best to kill you with his glare. He nearly snarled like a skag when he skulked past you and he stopped to throw one last cruel smirk back at Rhys.

“Can’t wait to see this all go up in smoke pumpkin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't know what it is but self-insert is harder to write then usual fiction? Oh well its still fun
> 
> And serious question time for the audience, originally my plan for this was for it to be super self indulgent for myself so the body type I had planned for the reader character to have a vagina and no breasts but I'm kind of considering going full neutral with the future sex scenes, I can't decide so what do you guys think?


	4. Chapter 4

You glared at the back of Jack’s head as you walked behind him, not close enough he could try to pull anything on you yet not far enough that he could bolt for it. How angry would Rhys get if you just hit him, you wondered to yourself, just roughed him up a little bit for the stunt he pulled. The temptation to kick him in the dick from behind was powerful.

“Thinking about how good my face tastes, you bandits are into that kind of thing right?” Jack asked out of nowhere.

“Hmm?” Was all you responded with still trying to judge if you could get the proper speed and momentum with him walking away from you.

“You’ve been trying to laser eye some holes into my friggin’ skull since we left sweetheart, so why don’t you tell daddy what’s wrong?” Jack mocked you and you scoffed under your breath.

“Trying to figure out how much shit I could beat out of you before I get fired.” You answered letting the edge of your lip quirk up.

“Oh did I hit a nerve, what did it, reminding you that you are a child killer or that you’re only loyal when there’s a paycheck involved?” Jack jabbed searching for a reaction he could further mock you for.

“Nah, I could have lived with that if you hadn’t made me look bad in front of my new friend.” You replied and your grip on your SMG tightened when he turned on his heel to face you. The both of you had reached the end of a hall, the point that had been glowing on your minimap had flown across your vision to hover over what appeared to an eye scanner. The idea of turning your back to Jack to put your face up to something protruding out of the wall didn’t sit well with you.

“Not my fault he doesn’t do his research.” Jack shot back seemingly disappointed that he hadn’t gotten a rise out of you. You kept a decent amount of distance from him as you walked around to the eye scanner, keeping an intense ear out for any movement from the man once he was behind you. The machine beeped and the lock clicked, you’d have to ask Rhys were he got a scan of your iris later.

“Are you trying to get fresh with him or sumthin’?” Your brows drew together and you slowly turned to look at the older man.

“What?” You replied. He just looked at you flatly with his arms crossed over his chest as if he hadn’t just used some ridiculously outdated slang at you.

“Get fresh with him, ya know, friendly, frisky, wham bam thank you ma’am him?” Jack went through his vernacular picking things he thought a bandit would understand. You snorted and gave a small wave of your hand to let him know you got it before he went on.

“I was going to try to until you made me look like an ass.” You replied before gesturing with your gun for him to head inside, the sooner he was looked away in his room the sooner you could go to yours.

“You do that all on your own pumpkin.” You didn’t like the grin that was on his face as he walked past you.

“What’s the look for?” You glared at him, if he was thinking of escaping you needed to make sure he knew chase him down. The fallen CEO just continued to smirk at you and you considered reminding him how he ended up dead in the first place.

“Just thinking off all the ways I can keep making you look like the ass you are, if I have to be locked up and miserable so should you.” He cackled and your lip curled. You thought you were down with this kind of nonsense when you dropped out of high school.

“I think you’re really underestimating my skills if you think a little smack talk is going to keep me from getting laid.” It was your turn to smirk, being a Vault Hunter did come with some perks when you were in the less murder-y parts of Pandora, such as having plenty of people willing to let you into their pants.

“And you’re forgetting that I lived in his head for a while sugar, I know what makes him tic.” Jack looked almost giddy as a thought occurred to him. “How much you want to bet I could get you fired?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so, everything I’ve done is public record, he’ll probably know everything by morning.” This is what you had missed, insults that actually took thought to rebuttal instead of the borderline incoherent screaming of a bandit lord. The dark intelligence in his eyes that actually made you worry about what he was scheming. You loved the worry, the way it sent adrenaline into your blood and made you feel alive again.

“Guess I’ll just have to come up with a different strategy.” Jack practically purred and it sent a shiver up your spine. His palms rubbed together making him look like the powerful villain he had once been, as if he still had an army and all the resources in the universe to get what he wanted.

“Care to drop some hints?” Your nerves were tingling, you wanted to hear his declaration so you could start strategizing around it. Just like old times.

“Oh sweetheart, the only hint you need is that I’m going to have our little Rhysie screaming my name before you can so much as get a whiff of him.” He laid out his challenge. You blinked slowly before letting out a laugh, surprising the older man. It was a warm sound, full of mirth that died off into a sigh.

“You think you still have game old man?” You teased making him scowl at you.

“Don’t get cocky with me kiddo, I invented game.” He snapped and you laughed again, you couldn’t believe how much you missed this. This time Jack’s lips cocked into lopsided smirk. You meet his intense gaze with one of your own as you stepped back from the doorway that separated you. The edge of the door was cold, nearly burning your palm when you grabbed it and guiding it to swing shut.

Let the hunt begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Goddamit I love these two, I feel kinda bad for releasing these two on Rhys that boy has no idea what's coming
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated ^^


	5. Chapter 5

You paced around the small segment of hallway in front of Jack’s room. One of the really nice things about having a HUD was that you didn’t have to wonder when your replacement was coming to take their shift. You kept an eye on the countdown as you prowled around, the short few hours where you would be allowed away from your charge was meant to be spent eating, resting and whatever else you needed to do to keep yourself in top shape. But today you were going to use the time to undo some of the damage Jack had done and get a leg up on your little competition.

You heard the replacement guard coming before you saw and you turned around waiting for them to come around the corner, standing a few feet from Jack’s door like a skag at the end of a lead. However when you saw your replacement you couldn’t help cocking a skeptical brow. He was scrawny thing, dressed mostly in the ripped remains of what had once been a lovely suit and was armed with only a club and a laser pointer. This group was worse off then you thought if this is what they were sending to guard Handsome Jack in a Vault Hunter’s stead.

A shield materialized in your hand and you pushed it into the man’s grip when he was close enough. His eyes widened as he looked down at the object and its faint purple glow then looked back up at you.

“That should protect you from most impact damage just don’t let him get his hands around your throat if he gets out.” You instructed and the man meekly nodded, attaching the shield to his jacket. You’d have to bring up the possibility to Rhys of you running through a few bandit camps to bring back some gear for his people sometime.

You gave the man a final nod before walking briskly down the hall. It took you a little hunting around but eventually you found a hall you recognized, or at least you think the spackle patches looked familiar. The uniformity of everything made your memory fuzzy so you found yourself hovering outside different doors trying to find any signs of life behind them. A lot of them seemed to be empty, probably due to the equipment inside being in need of replacement and therefore no point in anyone being in there. Finally once you had made it halfway down the hall, you heard your first sign of life in the form of someone cursing to themselves.

The knock of your knuckle against the door rang out through the otherwise silent hall. There was the sound of scattering papers followed by the clattering of little plastic wheels. You tucked your hands into the top pockets of your cargo pants while you wait for someone to answer the door. The tapping of frantic feet eventually found their way to the door pulling it open welcoming you to the sight of a disheveled Rhys. The man froze for a second when he saw it was you before self-consciously running a hand through his hair to try and give it shape again.

“C-can I help you?” He stammered and you fought down the twitch to smirk. Oh he could do more than help you.

“Just wanted to talk.” You answered and he looked you over nervously. That definitely needed fixing. After a moment’s hesitation he stepped back to let you into his office, you strolled inside to see it was even in worse condition then when you had last seen it. Papers were splayed out across the desk, a few on the floor and one his old fashioned computer screen multiple tabs were open, minimized to share the space.

“Looks like you need a secretary more than a Vault Hunter.” You commented glancing around.

“Yeah sorry, I’ve been digging through the old Atlas notes.” He apologized, honestly he did need a secretary but he couldn’t afford to take anyone from their job to do it for him. He was quick to change the subject. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Just about some of the things Jack said, I want to put your mind at ease.” The way his eyes softened confused you for a moment, you didn’t recognize the look and you had to sort way back in your memories for a similar look. It made your chest flutter and ache when you recalled it in a pair of pale blue eyes, Rhys wanted to trust you.

“I haven’t built a great reputation for myself when it comes to loyalty, I’m basically a mercenary I go where the money is,” You confessed and seeing the light dim in Rhys’ eyes made your chest hurt. “but I’m honest, I’ve never lied about my intentions. All you have to do is ask.”

“Will you betray me if someone pays you to?” The words came flying out of Rhys’ mouth. You allowed a soft smile to grace your features.

“No, I like you too much.” You assured him, playfully nudging his shoulder. He smiled, dulling the ache that had coiled in your chest.

“Good… that’s good.” He’s tumbling over his words again, too focused on how your fingers are lingering on his arm. As soon as you pulled your fingers away he cleared his throat, a light blush dusting his cheeks. You liked that look on him you decided.

“Yeah, good.” You agreed before deciding it was your turn to change the subject. “Do you guys have any showers around here, the one attached to my room is busted and I’m not about to ask Jack if I can use his.”

“There’s some down in the military sector, they’re group showers but no one really goes down there so you shouldn’t have to worry about anyone walking in on you.” Rhys tried really hard not to think about you in the shower, you two barely knew each other but it had been a very, very long time since anyone had shown any interest in him like you were. You shrugged dismissively.

“I’m used to bathing out in the open, I’m not too worried about an audience.” That answer seemed to strike a cord with the young CEO, his blush going from pink to red. You pretended to check the time on your HUD.

“Well, I’ll see you around beautiful, I got a lot to get done before I’m on guard again.” You were quick to escape with your victory, reestablished trust and planted thoughts of your nudity. You’d be sure to rub in Jack’s face when you got back.

The satisfaction would keep the dull heaviness at bay for a while but eventually you would have to try to sleep and that stone you had recently become acquainted with would form in your chest and hang from your ribs. You wouldn’t cry, you were too worn for that but those blue eyes would haunt you for the night. Hopefully tonight you wouldn’t wake up before your body did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ayye some character development for you! Jack's gonna get his turn next chapter, I hope you're all ready to fite for your boy!
> 
> Kudos and Comments keep me alive 0v0


	6. Chapter 6

You were ready to lose it. As much fun as you thought having Jack back would be being his guard was positively the most boring job you had ever had. It consisted primarily of standing around an empty hallway waiting to push Jack back into his room should he try to escape which he of course didn’t do because that would mean having restrictions placed on his already restricted access to Rhys. He was playing the long game on you and you couldn’t even make good use of your freedom because Rhys had been too busy the last few days to meet with you.

Suddenly the PA system buzzed to life, Rhys’ excited voice filtering through.

“Would everyone please head to the auditorium for an announcement.” He sounded a little breathy and happily jittery.

The hud in the corner of your vision blurred before the instruction changed.

Take Jack to the VIP Box: _

Enjoy the show: _

You snort before turning to Jack’s cell. The eye scan went by quickly enough and you lazed back on your heels while the door lock clicked. You were met with silence which was highly suspicious, usually when you unlocked Jack’s door your were met with snoring or some kind of insult. Your feet fell flat and you pushed the door open and glanced into his empty looking room. The blipping light on your minimap and the sound of running water told you Jack was still there.

“Jack, come on, you heard Rhys.” You called out and when you still didn’t receive an answer you huffed, stepping into the room. It was a compact space much like a motel room, enough room for the essentials and not much else.

You were standing in the middle of the small living room when the water stopped.

“I’m coming cupcake, keep your panties on.” The fallen CEO’s voice groused from behind the bathroom door. It opened with a creak a few moments later and Jack joined you in the main room with only a towel to hide his shame. Your eye traveled down his tan skin, taking in toned muscle and his solid middle before you could stop yourself. Jack noticed.

“Now, now, you can’t fall for me already that’ll take all of the challenge out of our bet.” He tutted and you rolled your eyes.

“Whatever you say old man, hurry up and get dressed.” You ordered with a dismissive wave of your hand. Jack dropped his towel and you cocked a brow at his obvious attempt to establish dominance, a small smirk pulling at your lips as he moved toward his dresser to change. You almost wanted to make fun of him, did he really think you’d be shocked by a naked man?

Jack’s wardrobe had shrunk considerably since the fall of Helios and he had to make do with what he had been resurrected with. He pulled on his jeans, notably going commando today, and his white button-up before throwing on his jacket. Fingers raked through his hair doing his best to style it without any product. His shoes were on, again foregoing putting anything on under so he left his socks in the drawer.

“Come on, Rhys has a VIP box set up for us.” You instructed leading him down the hall.

“At least he remembers how to treat royalty.” Jack commented under his breath.

You just rolled your eyes. The walk to the box took longer then you would’ve liked since Jack refused to run but you were greeted by an impressive sight. The stadium was huge, probably could have held the entirety of Sanctuary with ease with a wide stage that was perfect for weapon demonstrations. The Children of Helios barely filled the front row.

Rhys stood on the stage wearing the suit he had been when he came to get you. He was standing proudly, a huge holoscreen flickered to life behind him and glitched for a moment for stabilizing. Rhys was visibly tired, heavy bags under his eyes and his gaze seemed to unfocus a bit if he looked in one spot for too long. But he was glowing with pride.

“Hello everyone, I know we’ve had a rough start, a real rough start, but we’ve got our lucky break!” Rhys broke out in a wide grin and the crowd perked up. “Our deal with Marcus went through, the first order of weapons is being shipped off tomorrow morning.”

The Children of Helios cheered, a few even cried and Rhys beamed. Warmth seeped into your chest and you smiled softly, it felt good to see everything starting to come together for them. After a few moments Rhys held up his hand gently urging the crowd to quiet down.

“The lead director of our R&D department also has an announcement.” Rhys told them and a thin woman in a lab coat stood up from her seat, the people sitting around her clapped. Even you clapped politely as she took the stage and Rhys stood aside.You tuned her out as she started talking about some breakthrough the department had made and glanced at Jack.

You wouldn’t say he looked impressed but there was a thoughtful look in his eyes. He jerked out of his thoughts when you nudged his arm with your elbow.

“He needs to get a proper suit, those lines are ridiculous.” He stated once he regained his composure.

“At least he isn’t wearing those ‘skag skin’ boots anymore.” You added the apostrophes yourself, you really hoped someone told him skags didn’t have scales. You touched your chin lightly in thought and smirked. “He’d look good in fur.”

“He’d look like a gold digger.” Jack shot back with a cocked brow.

“He would.” You agreed and shrugged, shit eating grin still in place. Jack reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, his own grin hiding behind his hand.

“Getting along in here?” You both turned to see Rhys in the doorway, eyeing both of you with some concern.

“Just chatting, you did great out there beautiful.” You complimented him enjoying the way he lit up and the blush spreading across his cheeks was a nice touch. Jack lightly shoved your shoulder.

“What else did you suspect from my special boy?”He was grinning while while both you and Rhys’ eyes widened with surprise. You looked at Jack before your gaze slowly shifted to Rhys hoping for some kind explanation but the Atlas CEO only fidgeted under the attention.

“W-what happened to ‘Can’t wait to see this all go up in smoke’ huh?” Rhys inquired with a nervous chuckle.

“You forgot the pumpkin and I’ll admit I was a little angry but I saw some good stuff here today, I’m proud.” You could nearly see Rhys starting to float away under the praise.

“That’s quite a change in tune Jack, never took you for the forgiving type.” There was a slight growl in your words.

“I’m capable, it not like he killed the __actual__ me anyway.” Jack’s voice had a similarly hard edge. “Besides he was the one who brought me back, I think he deserves a little… gratitude from me.”

The little wink he sent Rhys is what got your blood boiling but before you could form a scathing remark Rhys cleared his throat, interrupting a little spat. The Atlas CEO fixed his hair nervously before standing upright to regain some professionalism.

“This has been fun but I need to get some sleep before I pass out, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what to do with him.” He tilted his head to Jack and you nodded.

“Of course, sleep well you deserve it.” You smiled at him fondly. He flustered for a moment before offering a ‘thank you’ and scurrying away. Once the door shut you whirled around to face Jack.

“You ‘special boy’?” You asked incredulously.

“We have history babe.” Jack stated and regardless of how much you prodded wouldn’t give any details.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Rhysie's moving on up!
> 
> Also since I saw Rhys' outfit in this comic http://viperscreeed.tumblr.com/post/162574693220/ripdumpy-how-about-both-d-i-didnt-mean-for
> 
> I haven't stopped thinking about it


End file.
